Ateneo de Manila president Fr. Jose Villarin, chaiman of Manila Observatory board of trustees, has appointed Manila Standard columnist Antonio La Viña as its new head.
La Viña served as former senior fellow of the MO and dean of the Ateneo School of Government for 10 years. He also served as undersecretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in 1996. After completing his law studies at the University of the Philippines, La Viña took up Masters of Laws and Doctor of Juridical Science degrees at Yale University.
A co-founder the Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center-Kasama sa Kalikasan, he replaced Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga, who “steered the MO to become a leading global, Asian and national scientific institution for climate change and disaster science,” a media statement on his appointment said.
“We aim to help our local and national leaders make programs and policies that are science-based and evidence-based,” La Viña said. He said the MO can be a major role-player in the international scientific and policy governance effort on climate change, especially in the implementation of the Paris Agreement.
Science and policy must go hand-in-hand, especially since the Philippines has been identified as one of the countries most vulnerable to climate change, the MO chief added.
The institution’s “science-based approach to sustainable development and poverty reduction” will also be translated to learning platforms that are more accessible to LGUs, educators and the public. “We want everyone to understand what the science is telling us,” La Viña said.
The MO, the first weather bureau of the Philippines, celebrated its 150th year of operation this year.
The observatory is a Jesuit scientific research institution with research work in the fields of atmospheric and earth science in the Philippines and the Southeast Asian region. It advocates a science-based approach to sustainable development and poverty reduction.
Inspired by Ignatian spirituality, MO is committed to a scientific culture in its regional and global context through research excellence in environmental and pre-disaster science particularly in the areas of atmospheric studies, solid earth dynamics, instrumentation, and applied geomatics.